BJP drafts plan to offer Ram temple pilgrimages

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun to draft plans for organising pilgrimages to Ayodhya from across the country and host programmes to celebrate the January 22 inauguration of the Ram temple, an event that was on the party's election manifesto for decades, and will be used to burnish its ideological commitment, leaders aware of the details said on Tuesday.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Though the development agenda has become the mainstay of the BJP's election campaigns, the party has ensured that it is not seen to be distancing itself from core ideological issues such as the reclamation of temples, implementation of the uniform civil code, and a ban on cow slaughter, said the leaders quoted above.

According to people aware of the details, though the party wants the inauguration and the pilgrimage to be perceived from a largely religious and cultural point of view, it will not shy away from taking credit for spearheading the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign; it will push the narrative that the promise of a grand temple was fulfilled during the BJP's rule.